FAMILY CELEBRATES

Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 12:45:38 -0500 (EST)
Putting a face to PBA
Local News
Family celebrates signing of partial-birth abortion ban
By Shari Sanger The Record Herald

GREENCASTLE - A bill banning partial-birth abortion that was signed into law Wednesday by President Bush is a personal victory for a local family that has been fighting for seven years to outlaw the procedure.

After years of frustration, legal setbacks and two presidential vetoes, hundreds of anti-abortion leaders rose to applaud when Bush promised to vigorously defend the constitutionality of the law, known by its supporters as a ''partial birth abortion'' ban.

The bill outlaws a procedure generally performed in the second or third trimester in which a fetus is partially delivered before being killed, usually by having its skull punctured. Former President Clinton twice vetoed similar bills.

A personal battle

The controversy has been a personal battle for Lori and Don Watts of Greencastle since the birth of their daughter Donna Joy 11 years ago.

A sonogram performed when Watts was seven months pregnant showed her baby had severe brain defects. Doctors told Watts if she delivered her baby, it would die shortly afterward, and they said the only solution was a late-term abortion.

Watts convinced a doctor to deliver her baby through Caesarean section. The baby was expected to live just a few days.

Donna Joy has undergone eight brain surgeries and has been in and out of hospitals for treatment of her brain condition and epilepsy.

Today, Donna Joy plays with her three sisters - Chrissy, Shaylah and Tabytha - sings in church, volunteers at area shelters and visits shut-ins in nursing homes.

Seeing the president

The Wattses arrived in Washington, D.C., around 10 a.m. Wednesday to attend the afternoon signing of the bill at the Ronald Reagan Building.

The signing ceremony took place in front of a patriotic background of American flags on the stage behind Bush. Several dozen abortion-rights protesters demonstrated outside.

The Watts family was seated in the front of the room along White House staffers.

An emotional time

People applauded and gave standing ovations during Bush's speech, Watts noted.

In a remark that brought loud applause, Bush said the right to life ''cannot be granted or denied by government because it does not come from government. It comes from the creator of life.''

"The whole place was about to come down. There was so much electricity in the air," said Watts. "Everyone's hearts were racing. Everyone there had worked in their own way to get this thing passed, whether through prayer or writing their congressman."

The Wattses not only witnessed history, they were part of it.

The family has been involved in the struggle to ban the partial-birth abortion procedure for seven years, after Don Watts saw a politician listing the medical conditions - the same ones Donna Joy has - as those that put a mother at risk and justify a partial-birth abortion.

"There's a lot of relief," Watts said. "I'm just so glad that we got a pro-life president that would actually sign our bill. It's awesome knowing we're part of history, but it's even more meaningful that we're saving the lives of children and their mothers."

Being acknowledged

Although the family didn't get to meet the president, Bush acknowledged them at the signing.

"He pointed at Donna Joy and waved to her. She gave him a big crooked smile. It was so cute."

The Wattses' four children were excited about being in the same room with the president, she noted.

The family spent a lot of time Wednesday with Sen. Rick Santorum, who got permission for the family to attend the signing.

The opposition

The measure has already been challenged in three federal courts.

Arguments against the law were raised in courtrooms in Lincoln, Neb., San Francisco and New York.

A federal judge in Nebraska called the law ''highly suspect'' and issued a temporary order blocking it from applying to four abortion-rights doctors who filed suit.

Editor's note: The Associated Press also contributed to this story.

http://www.therecordherald.com/articles/2003/11/06/local_news/news01.txt